Unitary system for transmitting color and black-white pictures



Jan? 1940- w. G. H. FINCH 2,187,374

UNITARY SYSTEM FOR TRANSMITTING COLOR AND BLACK-WHITE PICTURES Filed May 5, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 m AMPLIFIER llllllllilllllll llIl I IIIIIIIIIIIIII I Figr4 INV NIOR. 'LII'zZZzanIg-Jf znch' ATTORNEY.

Jan. 116, 1940. w, F N H 2,187,374

UNITARY SYSTEM FOR TRANSMITTING COLOR AND BLACK-WHITE PICTURES Filed May 3, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 m llm ATTORNEY.

INV Million 19.91: inch Patented Jan. 16, 1940 PATENT OFFICE UNITARY SYSTEM FOR TRANSNIITTING COLOR AND BLACK-WHITE PICTURES William G. H. Finch, Spuyten Duyvil, N. Y.

Application May 3,1937, Serial No. 140,293 Claims. (01. 1785.2)

This invention relates to electrical, transmission of pictures and more particularly'relates' to novel methods of and apparatus for selectively transmitting color and black-white pictures to remote points. This application is a continuation-inpart of my (Impending application Serial No. 139,365, filed April 28, 1937, entitled Color pic- 'ture transmission system.

Telepicture systems. are now widely used by newspaper and other. organizations in the-commercial transmission of records and news photos. Such systems, however, have heretofore been limited to black-white picture transmission. Transmission of color pictures required special appara tus and operatingtechnique, hampering its commercial development. It was necessary to prepare a plurality of color separation prints for the transmission. A color picture transmission method employing separation prints is, for example, diuclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 138,683, filed April 24, 1937.

In accordance with my present invention, I provide novel methods of and apparatus for directly transmitting a color picture or a blackwhite picture without requiring intermediate photography. steps. The apparatusof' my present invention is employed to directly scan either the color or black-white picture and generate the necessary electrical picture signals for translation atthe receiving station. The apparatus is designed to selectively operate forcolor or blackwhite picture transmission and reception and thereby avoid duplication of equipmentin commercial picture transmission.

My invention is particularly applicable to newspaper organizations having remotely scattered oilices or plants and requiring rapid and accurate transmission of pictures either of the black-white or color variety. 'Ihetransmission of color pictures and drawings such as colored comic sections, colored advertisements, and colored copy for newspapers or magazines is readily accomplished with merely the technique and precautions heretofore required for black-white picture transmission.

. .My present invention renders theestablishment for transmitting color and monochrome pictures.

Another object of my present invention .is to provide a unitary system for the selectivetransmission and reception of color or black-white pictures.

A further object of my presentinvention is to provide novel apparatus for directly and econominally transmitting and receiving color or monochrome pictures.

These and other objects of my present inven- 5 tionwill become apparent in the following description taken in connection with the drawings, inwhich: 1

Figure l is a plan view of a preferred embodiment-ofthe picture transmitter ofmy present invention. b

Figure 2 is-a cross s'ectional view taken along 22 of- Figure 1 illustrating themechanicaldrive for the color picture scanner at the transmitter.

Figure 3 is an elevational view of' the scanner adjusted ior color pictures and corresponds to'a view along ii-3 of Fig. 2.

Figure 4 is 'a cross-sectional view taken horizontallythrough the 1 scanner speed-changing mechanism;

Figure 5 is a planview ofapreferred'embodi ment for the picture receiver adjusted to translate color pictures.

Figured is a perspective view of-th'e removable drum used with the receiverof Figure 5 f or'trans- 5 lating monochrome or black-white pictures.

Figure '7 is an illustration of the color separa'- tion prints produced at the receiver for acolor picture." i V Figure 8 illuStrates the superposition of-three 6 primary color separation prints to reconstruct a facsimile of the transmitted color picture.

A color photograph, picture, drawing record or the like may be resolved intothree individual monochrome prints-corresponding to the three primar-ycolors, red, blueand yellow. However, my invention is not limited to these colors' but more or* less than such primary prints maybe employed. The color scene may be photographed by conventional color=photography methods. A photograph of still-lifemay be made by taking three successive-photographs of the scene using correspondingly proper light filters to produce the colored picture thereof. For action'sceriesfa single-exposure camera employingreflecting mirrors is used to simultaneously snap the three primary colored prints. Thecolor filter used for each'individual primary color print may be designed to pass or absorb all the color components of the light except light of the color tobe printed.

violet filter.

In accordance with my present invention, the actual color picture, photograph or drawing is directly mounted in the telepicture transmitter for generating the primary color picture signals necessary to compose the color facsimile. My invention is particularly applicable to the transmission of colored paintings, drawings and the like since the use of color photograph apparatus to produce a color reproduction thereof at the transmitter is rendered unnecessary. Thus, newspapers can directly transmit colored comic sections, colored advertisements, paintings, etc. by directly inserting the originals in the transmitter as will be evident from the description following. My co-pending application 139,365, filed April 28, 1937, discloses a similar transmitter unit for producing picture signals corresponding to direct scanning of a color picture. My present invention is directed to a universal telepicture system whereby the direct transmission of ordinary black-white pictures or color pictures is accomplished.-

The color or black-white picture ID is mounted upon the drum ll of the transmitter shown in Figure 1. Sheet clamps l2 grip opposite edges of thesheet Ill to hold it in position on the drum. Drum'll is rotatably supported between the tail stock l3 and the shaft is. Drum II is removable to facilitate mounting and de-mounting oi the picture iii. .Drum N is rotated at a predetermined speed by means of the electrical motor I5 mechanically coupled thereto by reduction gearing enclosed within housing It. Motor I5 is preferably of. the synchronous type connected to a constant frequency alternating current source by lead ll, such as a commercial sixty-cycle system. In the preferred embodiment, drum II is rotated at one hundred revolutions per minute.

The electro-optical scanning mechanism is located in the carriage 18 which is moved parallel to the axis of rotatable drum ll. Scanner carriage I8 is driven at a predetermined rate by means of the feed screw 20 mechanically coupled to the motor L: by reduction gearing located at 2i and 23 interconnected by a speed-changeover device 22. Feed screw 20 is coupled to a worm lock located beneath extension plate 24 and operated into engagement and disengagement with the feed screw 20 by cam lever 25. Scanner carriage i8 is accurately guided in its transverse movement by tracks 2626. The system is mounted upon a heavy cast-iron base 27 to minimize vibrational effects.

The mechanical arrangement of the transmitter apparatus is similar to that disclosed in my Patent No. 2,047,863 which issued on July 14, 1936, entitled Telecommunication system, and in my co-pending application Serial No. 84,426, filed June 10, 1936, entitled Telepicture scanning systems. As disclosed in these cases, the electro-optical scanner l8 comprises an intense source of light schematically shown at 23 which is focused by a lens system 29 to a beam 30 to produce a spot of light upon the record sheet I 0. Light is refracted from the sheet l0 along path 3! to the lens system 32 which focuses the refracted light upon a photoelectric cell contained within the carriage l8 as schematically shown at 33, As drum H rotates, carriage [8 moves transversely thereto at a predetermined speed to the right, scanning the record sheet I0 along a helical path indicated by the scanning lines 34. The photoelectric cell 33 accordingly receives light varying in intensity in accordance with the elemental shading and/or coloring of the portions of the picture being scanned. The anode of photoelectric cell 33 is connected to a suitable high voltage and generates electrical currents varying in accordance with the light impinging thereon as is well known in the electrical art. The cell 33 is shown schematically connected by the electrical cable ,35 to the amplifier unit 36. The operating voltages and potentials for the photoelectric cell 33 and ource of light 28 are introduced through the cable 35 as will be evident to those skilled in the art and as described in my Patent No. 2,047,863. Electronic amplification of the signals generated at the photoelectric cell 33 may be performed within the carriage 18 to facilitate faithful reproduction of the signal variation in the cell by amplifier 3B. The picture signals are amplified at 36 and relayed to a remote receiving station across a transmission channel 31. The picture signals fall in the audio range and may be translated by modulating a radiofrequency carrier wave or by modulating an audio frequency carrier for transmission across a telephone line as described in my patent above referred to.

An important advantage of my present invention resides in providing a picture transmitter and receiver which can be selectively operated to directly transmit and receive color or mono chrome pictures without requiringseparate equipment. The herein described transmitter is similar to the transmitter described in my copending application Serial No. 139,365, referred to above, with the added provision of the speedchangeover mechanism 22 arranged to operate the scanner carriage 18 at one of two predetermined rates in a direction parallel to the axis of rotatable drum H. In the transmission of a color picture by my present invention, I utilize the scanning principle disclosed in the co-pending application herein referred to, in which the line-by-line scanning operations overlap so that each elemental portion of the color picture is scanned a plurality of times equal to the number of monochrome color separation prints required at the receiving station.

To accomplish the overlapping scanning operation for the colored picture, the scanner carriage I8 is fed at a predetermined fraction of its normal rate of feed for contiguous scanning corresponding to black-white picture transmission. Thus, for example, where three color separation groups of signals are required, the scanner carriage I8 is advanced at one-third the normal rate corresponding to black-white picture scanning. Thus, for example, the carriage l8 may be advanced at a continuous rate equal to one inch per minute for black-white scanning and thereby scan the picture [0 (revolving at one hundred revolutions per minute) with one hundred contiguous scanning lines each minute, to execute a homogeneous scanning operation. The carriage for this apparatus will be advanced at one-third this speed for color picture translation, namely, at one-third of an inch per minute, to scan the picture with one hundred overlapping scanning operations in one minute. Details of a preferred embodiment for the speed change-over mechanism 22 is hereinafter described in connection with Figure 4.

The description immediately following concerns the scanning of a color picture to produce signals for the plurality of monochrome separation prints required at the receiver. The operation for scanning a monochrome or blackwhite picture in transmission will be described subsequent tothe color scanning operation. In

accordance with the invention, a color picture at I is scanned with overlapping scanning lines and thescanning beam is successively passed through individual color filters to resolve the colored scanning variations into individual sets of color records. The scanning beam 30 is focused to a spot .01 inch widein order to trace a scanning path across Width.

I prefer to employ three primary color prints the picture .01 inch in to compose the color facsimile atthe receiving station. The scanner carriage I8 is moved onethird of an inch per minute. :Since the drum H is rotated at one hundred revolutions per "trated in Figure 3, the filter disk 40 contains three sections 41, 42 and 43, of individual color filters. These filters are either designed to individually pass through or transmit a primary color component of the colored light beam 3! and absorb the other components, or to individ ually absorb a primary color and transmit the;

remaining components. The former design em \plcys red, blue and yellow filters, and produces signals corresponding to photographic positives of the primary color separation prints; for the latter design, green, orange and violet filters are used to producesignals correspo-ndingto photographic negatives of the primary color separation prints. The light filter disk it} may alter-- natively be interposed in the constant light beam. 3G tocarry out the principle of my invention.

When the refracted beam 3i is passed through: agreen filter, all the red color components of the: picture i ii are absorbed thereby, and the remain-- ing color components pass through to variably afifect the cell 33. The light passing through the:

filter varies inversely in accordance with thelde .gree'of aparticular primary color in. the-elemental portion of the picture being scanned. Variations in theintensity of the red lightabsorbed by the green colored filter causecorresponding current variations to bet'ransmitted as picture signals. Similarly, an orange filter will absorb the blue picture shading and a violet filterwill absorb the yellow picture components. The

color record It being transmitted is accordingly automatically resolved into three monochrome color separation signal groups for translationat the receiver unit. These signal groups correspondto photographic negatives."of the primary colors blue, red and yellow. The receiver may be designed to produce either positives or negatives from the signal as will now beevi dent to those skilled in the art.

The color filter disk 40 is rotated in synchro nism with the rotation of drum i I and at one-- third the speed thereofi As shown inFigures 1.

2, disk lii is mechanically coupled to the gear- "chronously'drivin'g color filter disk 40 utilizes a flexible shaft M connected between the stationary gear box 45 mounted on the base 21' and the movable gear boX 46 mounted on the scanner carriage 18. Gear box 45 is connected to gearing at iii by rods 4'! and 48 coupled at right angles by gearing box 49. The color filter disk ill is connected to gearbox 46 by rod iii] and gear box The gear boxes 45,4E'i, diiand 5i may contain bevelled gears for translating the drive ninety mechanical degrees at each junction.

The tortional cable or flexible shaft M permits continuous mechanical engagement of the disk it and the drum It even though the carriage it! supporting the disk 4|] is moved a considerable distance during the scanning operation. The gear box 45 is preferably centrally located with respect to the position of drum I! so that the flexible shaft it will be moved through a minimum displacement and distortion. The color filter dist: 4D is accordingly directly mechanically coupled with drum H and rotates in phase syn-- 'chronism therewith at one-third the speed -thereof.

Ihis arrangement causes each of the color filters M, 52 or Mite move past refracted beam iii in a manner such that for each revolutien ofdrum I i, an individual filter obstructs or remains in the path of the beam 3!. Thus while the drum it rotates once, one filter for example the green filter, will remain interposed across beam ill so that only the red shading color values or the picture are impinged upon photoelectric cell 33.

The scanning beam as being .01 of an inch wide, causes picture signals to be produced in amplifier 536 as though a red monochrome or the color picture it were being scanned during the 3 particular revolutiondescribed. During the next revolution of the drum H, the next adjacent color filter automatically intercepts the beam Eli due to the revolution of filter disk lit in synchronism therewith and at one-third the rate or drum M. This second color filter may, for example, be the orange filter so that theblue shading of the color picture it varies the light "thirds of the previous scanned line since the ;scanning lines are .01 of an inch wide due to the width of beam Iifi, and the advance of the scan- "ner was only one-third this amount. Continuing,

with the third revolution of drum H, the third or violet filter will be automatically moved into path of the beam 311 and the'scanning line upon picture lil will overlap one-third of the lfirst scanning line and two-thirds of the second scanning line as will now be evident, to transmit the yellow monochrome primary colornegative (values of picture it.

For each three revolutions oi drum ii, the scanner carriage i8 moves a distance equa1 to "the Width of a scanning line, namely .61 of an inch. Thus, during the fourth revolution of drum II, the light beam ill! will not overlap the first scanning beam position but will be contiguous therewith as though the picture were being scanned in the ordinary manner for black and White picture transmission. The green or first mentioned filter will be again interposed at the reflected beam 3! and the red components of the color picture Ii] will be translated into picture signals. Continuing, the" fifth rotation of drum ll brings the orange filter into view and the scanning operation is contiguous with the second scanning line formed during which the orange scanner was also used to form the blue picture signals. Similarly, the sixth operation is similar to the third described scanning operation and the violet filter comes into operation to translate the yellow components of the picture into electrical signals.

It will accordingly be evident that in my present invention successive overlapping scanning occurs for the plurality of primary colors for the color picture. Although I prefer to use three colors, two or four or more colors may instead be employed to recompose the color picture. Where three color pictures are used, the scanning is such that every third scanning line across the picture will be contiguous and, in effect, continuously scan the picture. Furthermore, each successive line between the three scanning operations overlap and are used to generate individual primary color separation prints. The overlapping scanning operation is performed by advancing the scanner carriage 18 at one-third the normal rate corresponding to the normal width of the scanning beam. The primary color separation prints are individually received and translated as will be hereinafter described in detail.

In order to transmit a monochrome or blackwhite picture having shading or tonations the same transmitter hereinabove described is employed. The monochrome picture is mounted upon drum ll in the ordinary manner preparatory to scanning. The color disk 40 is removed from its position on the carriage Hi. This may be readily accomplished by turning the thumb screw 52 fastening the disk 40 upon the shaft 53 motivated from gear box 5|. The filter disk 40 is secured with a key to rotate with shaft 53 when mounted thereon. By removing the color filter disk 40, the reflected light beam 3| passes directly into the optical focusing system 32 to impinge upon the photoelectric cell 33. The lever 54 of the speed-change mechanism 22 is shifted to the second speed position designed to drive the feed screw 20 so that scanner carriage I8 will be moved at the rate of one inch per minute." This transverse speed of the scanner I8 is three times that corresponding to the rate used for scanning a color picture into three groups of signal values.

Accordingly, by merely removing the color filter disk Q0 and throwing the speed changeover device 22 into the high speed position, the transmitter is converted to a monochrome picture transmitter and is operated similar to the transmitter disclosed in my Patent No. 2,047,863 referred to hereinabove. In my preferred illustration, the scanningbeam 30 focused upon the monochrome picture to be transmitted has a width of .01 inch, the drum ll rotates one hundred revolutions per minute, the scanner carriage moves at the rate of one inch per minute and the scanning operation is a continuous helix without overlapping as will now be evident. The transmitter of Figure 1 is accordingly universally adapted to transmit a monochrome or color picture by a simple changeover operation. The synchronizing signals are preferably transmitted once per revolution of the drum H for synchronizing the receiver system in a manner disclosed in my Patent No. 2,047,863.

The speed-changeover mechanism 22 is illus trated in Figure 4 which is a horizontal crosspresent sectional view therethrough. Shaft 55 is driven directly from the gear-down mechanism 2| connected to the gearing box IE which drives the drum ll. Shaft 55 is rotatably supported upon the housingof the speed changeover mechanism 22. Two sets of gears Eli-57 and 58.59 are arranged within the housing and are selectively operated between positive clutching member 60. Gears 56 and 58 are rotatably mounted upon shaft 55. Gears 5'! and 59 are fixedly mounted upon shaft 6| which shaft communicates to the bevelled gear 62-453 within housing 23 for driving the feed-screw 2B of scanner I8. Clutching mechanism 60 comprises driven clutch members 64 and 65 individually secured to the gears 55 and 58 respectively and a shiftable member 66 slidably keyed to shaft 55 by key 61.

The ratio between gears 56 and 57 is designed so that shaft BI is driven three times as fast as compared to its speed when driven by the gears 58 and 59. Only one set of gears at a time is used to connect shaft 55 for driving shaft 6i, while the other set merely idles due to the disengagement from that set to the clutch member E56. Clutch 60 is engaged to the left orright, namely, to the driven clutch member 64 or 65 by means of the lever 54 projecting from the housing 22. Lever 54 is twisted to slide the clutch member 66 and selectively engage the high or low speed settings of the speed-change unit. When clutch 60 is engaged so that member 66 drives member 65, gears 58-59 cause shaft SI and feed-screw 20 to rotate to drive carriage It at the slower rate, corresponding to the speed for color picture scanning. When clutch 60 is engaged to the left so that clutch 66 and 64 engage, shaft 6| is rotated at the faster rate correspondingto the monochrome or black-white picture scanning operation.

Figure 5 is a plan view of a preferred universal telepicture receiver for selectively translating the electrical signals from the transmitter to produce monochrome facsimiles corresponding to the signal groups from the transmitter foreither the black-white or color pictures. The receiver is motivated by electric motor 70 connected to a reduction gearing unit H through a speed-changeover unit 72. The unit 72 is similar to the speed changeover mechanism 22 hereinabove described in connection with Figures 1 and 4 and operates to change the speed ratio of themechanism from low to high speed, in the present example, in the ratio of three-to-one. The. reduction gear unit ll may contain a start-stop clutch or other synchronizing means responsive to transmitted synchronizing signals for maintaining the rotation of the drum 72 in synchronism with the transmitter scanner. A suitable synchronizing system is disclosed in my Patent No. 2,047,863 hereinabove referred to. Another synchronizing system which dispenses with start-stop means is disclosed in my co-pending application Ser. No. 128,920, filed March 4, 1937. Details of a synchronizing system are not illustrated since my invention is not directly concerned therewith. The drum i3 is rotatably mounted between the shaft 14 communicating with the gear box H and a tail stock'75. Y

The receiver scanner carriage 16 is moved parallel to the axis of drum 73 and is driven by feed screw 77 connected to the reduction gearing at 78 and 79. The gearing at 78 is directly connected to the drum shaft 14 in order that the scanner be moved inexact correspondence with the rotation of drum 13. The movement of carriage 16 is maintained in accurate alignment by means of the parallel tracks 80-88. The scanner carriage 16 may contain an electro-optical translating means such as a neon or crater lamp 8! connected to the output of the telepicture receiver 82. The light output of signal lamp 8| is focused upon a sensitive record sheet 83 by optical means 84 in a beam 85. Light beam 85 varies in accordance with the intensity of the received telepicture signals and is preferably adjusted to .01 inch in width, corresponding to the width of the transmitter scanning beam 38.

The sensitive record sheet 83 is mounted upon drum 13 by means of sheet mounting clamps 88 similar to the clamps l2 on the transmitter drum II. The illustration in Figure 5 is for the reception of a color picture. In accordance with my present invention, the drum 13 'used in receiving the color picture signals, is three times the diameter of the corresponding transmitter drum II when three color separation signal groups are employed. If only two or four color separation groups are used, the drumwill correspondingly be two or four times the diameter of the standard or normal drum diameter. Figure 6 illustrates the drum l8 which is used in place of the large drum 73 when black-white picture scanning is to be effected as will be hereinafter explained. The diameter of drum [3 is equal to that of the drum I I at the transmitter. Receiver drum T3 is removable from its mounting between shaft 14 and tail stock l5. Drum 13 or it is selectively inserted in the telepicture receiver of my present invention in accordance with the type of picture being transmitted.

When the transmitter generates three color separation groups of picture signals corresponding to a color picture being scanned, the drum 13 having three times the diameter of the transmitter drum also has a scanning surface which is three times that of the transmitter drum. The sensitive record sheet83 is of the same width as the transmitter sheet I II but is three timesas long in order to properly fit upon the large drum (3.

Drum l3 is rotated at one-third the normal speed, namely 33% revolutions per minute when a color picture is being received. The scanner carriage 076 is correspondingly moved at onethird of an inch per minute toward the right.

The speed ratio between motor 18 and thedrum 13 together with carriage 1 8 is arrangedtooperate the system at these values by moving the lever8-1 of the speed-changeover mechanism 12 to the proper position; It will now be evident that the changeover device 12 serves to change both thespeedof the drum l3 and the speed of the scanner carriage 18 incorresponding relationship. This .factor insures contiguous scanning of .the record sheet 83 by the scanning lines 88. I l i Translating light beam 85 being .01 inch in width traces scanninglines 88, schematically indicatedonthe sheet 83, .01 inch apart. The relative speedsof ,the carriage l6 and the surface speed of the drum is-such as to producea contiguous scanning operation on the sheet 83 to form a continuous helical scanning of the recordsheet without substantial overlapping of the scanning lines. Figure 7 illustrates a completed facsimile corresponding to a color picture transmission. Therecordsheet .33, when developed, contains three individual monochrome facsimiles 1B, R and Y corresponding to color separation values as generated through the color filter disk 40 hereinabove described,

The continuous scanning operation which produced the print of Figure '7 independently segregates the respective signals corresponding to the individual monochrome prints to produce spaced facsimiles as shown in Figure 7. Since the rotation of color picture receiving drum I3 is set at one-third the speed of the transmitter drum II, it will execute one revolution for each three revolutions of the transmitter drum. As already described, the overlapping scanning operation for transmitting the color picture successively performs color separation operations through the synchronously driven color filter disk. The receiving system is arranged to synchronously sep arate the successive color discrimination signals and produces monochrome facsimiles suchas B,

R and Y corresponding, for example, to the blue, red and yellow primary color prints. for the color picture. The scenes on the three pictures are seen to be identical in appearance, size and shape and are accurately arranged in parallel and vertical alignment. The particular advantages of such alignment during reception are described in my co-pending application Ser. No. 138,683, filed April 24, 1937.

The color picture reproduction is prepared by using a gelatin or other conventional transparent sensitive film for 83 and in creating light and dark areas on the film corresponding to thetransmitted current variations produced from the original color picture scanned through the successive color filters ll, M'and 43. The receiver 82 may be adjusted to produce negatives or positives from the transmitted signals as desired. In order to form an actual color reproduction of the transmitter picture translucent posi tives of the B, R and Y prints are directly or subsequently formed. After the film 88 is devel oped, it is bleached in the conventional manner. The B, R and Y portions of the film are severed and now represent the blue-red and yellow components of the color picture. In order to compose the final color facsimile, it is necessary to dye or tone the individual prints to their proper color. The blue, red and yellow prints are identified by their location on sheet 88 or in some other predetermined manner.

The tinting or coloring of the individual prints to blue, red or yellow may be performed by dyeing the bleached films with an aniline dye or by toning them with metallic salt solutionswhich combine with the silver retained in the print in.

a manner well known in the photographic art.

Toning the film brings out the high lights of the final picture in a better manner than the dyeing process does. The monochrome colored prints are then superimposed to form an integral final picture.

In Figure 8 I illustrate a preferred manner for preparing the final colored photograph by the three color prints. The tinted or toned blue, red and yellow films, B, R and Y are accurately superimposed one above the other and upon a white backing sheet 89 with transparent adhesive material. The superposition .of the films is such as to match the outlineof the picture with corresponding portions falling in line. The scanning lines 45 on the respective prints have been drawn in to illustrate an advantage of my pres:- ent invention. The scanning region lines 88 on the Y print correspond to the lines already described in connection with Figures 5 and 7. The illustration shows the R print positioned above the Y print. The scanning lines 8t at the over lapping region of Hand Y appear more dense since the borders of the scanning lines overlap.

Similarly, the scanning line region 88 illustrating the superposition of the three prints B, R and Y is more dense since the outline of the scanning lines 45 overlap as will now be evident.

It will be noted that all scanning lines are substantially parallel and normally overlap on superposition. The colors viewed beneath the B portion of the picture of Figure 8 contains the original coloring of the photograph since the three tinted translucent films are viewed above the white backing sheet 89 and combine to produce the original elemental coloring at each portion of the picture. The overlapping of the scanning lines at 88 evens out or tones the final image so as to eifectively dissolve or cause any possible outline of the individual scanning lines which may be apparent in an individual print to disappear in the final color print.

It is to be understood that the synchronizing signals are transmitted from the receiver once every revolution of the transmitter drum. However, the receiver drum 13 rotates only once for each three revolutions of the transmitter drum.

, Accordingly, only each third synchronizing signal will be effective in orienting the receiver drum I3. The synchronizing signals which are. not effective in synchronizing the larger drum rotating at one-third the speed, will appear as solid lines 90 separating the individual B, R and Y monochrome facsimile prints and not interfere with the production of the prints.

The telepicture receiver of my present invention accommodates translation of the black-white or monochrome transmission from the transmitter as well as the plurality of color separation prints by direct transmission from the transmitter. The large drum 13 is removed and the normal sized drum l3 as illustrated in Figure 6 is inserted in position between the shaft M and the tail stock 15. The scanner carriage 16 is adjusted in the normal manner and the scanning or translating beam varying in accordance with the picture signals is of the same diameter, namely .01 inch as heretofore described. The only other adjustment required is to move the lever 81 of the speed changeover mechanism 12 to the higher speed position. The drum I3 will then rotate at the same speed as the transmitter drum ll, namely onehundred revolutions per minute. During the transmission of black-White or monochrome pictures, the transmitter scanner carriage I8 is moved at the rate of one inch per minute, the speed-changeover mechanism 22 being shifted, by lever 54, to the high speed position. The transmitter and receiver for the black-white pictures will accordingly operate in synchronism and with similar speed ratios and correspond to the system described in my Patent No. 2,047,863 referred to above for black-white picture transmission. My present invention accordingly permits selective transmission of color or monochrome pictures from the transmitter to the receiver with minor adjustments for either type of picture.

In accordance with my present invention, colored monochrome or black-white photographs, pictures, drawings, and paintings of any character may be economically transmitted to remote points with the same system. Such transmission is particularly important to newspaper and magazine chains where rapid and accurate transmission of many types of copy between re- .mote points is paramount. Such transmission is carried out with the skill and precaution ordinarily required with black-white picture transmission. Colored pictures and drawings for comic sections, special feature sections, or advertisements are economically transmitted without special precautions to avoid inherent commercial picture distortions. The colored pictures are transmitted without requiring the intermediate color separation prints such as produced by color photography processes.

By suitably choosing the color filter of the filter disk at the transmitter or by suitably biasing or electrically connecting the transmitter and/o1 receiver circuits, the receiver can directly produce positives corresponding to the primary color separation prints for the color picture transmitted. In a similar manner, negatives of these pictures may be produced at the receiver. It is feasible to directly engrave the primary color separation prints upon a metallic plate for use with the conventional color printing process. The receiver translating unit corresponding to Figures 4 and 5 may be at the same location as the transmitter and be used to translate the picture signals generated directly from the color photograph lll into the primary color separation prints necessary for color photo-engraving and thus avoid the requirement for intermediate color photography. Modifications of my present invention will be evident to those skilled in the art and accordingly I do not intend to be limited except as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. The method of transmitting a colored picture which comprises scanning the colored picture at a predetermined surface speed, successively filtering out different colors of the light beam for successive lines of scanning to produce light intensities varying in accordance with color components of elemental portions of the picture, generating electrical signals in accordance with the varying light intensities, transmitting the electrical signals to a receiving station, producing a scanning beam of light of intensity varying in accordance with the electrical signals, and continuously scanning a sensitive record sheet with the scanning beam in a contiguous scanning operation at a surface speed substantially equal to said predetermined rate to simultaneously produce a plurality of monochrome facsimiles on the record sheet corresponding to the individual transmitted color value signals.

2.-The method of transmitting a colored picture which comprises scanning the colored picture at a predetermined surface speed by overlapping scanning operations, successively filtering out different colors of the light beam for successive lines of scanning to produce light intensities varying in accordance with color components of elemental portions of the picture, generating electrical signals in accordance with the varying light intensities, transmitting the electrical signals to a receiving station, producing a scanning beam of light of intensity varying in accordance with the electrical signals, and continuously scanning a single sensitive record sheet with the scanning beam in a contiguous scanning operation at a surface speed substantially equal to said predetermined rate to simultaneously produce a plurality of monochrome facsimiles on the single record sheet corresponding to the individual transmitted color value signals.

3. A unitary system for transmitting color and monochrome pictures comprising mechanism for electrooptically scanning a picture with a contiguous line-by-line operation at a predetermined picture surface speed; means for changing the scanning operation to an overlapping line-byline operation for color picture scanning; means for filtering the scanning light beam differently forsuccessive lines of scanning for producing electrical signals varying in accordance with individual color components during the overlapping scanning operations on the color picture; and means for translating said electrical signals comprising means for carrying a record sheet, a recording unit responsive to said signals, a source of motive power for motivating said sheet-carrying means with respect to said unit across said record sheet at substantially said electrooptical scanning surface speed and means for controlling the relative speed of said sheet-carrying means and said associated recording unit for simultaneously producing an individual facsimile corresponding to individual colors for a transmitted color picture.

i. A system for transmitting color and monochrome pictures comprising mechanism for electrooptically scanning a picture with a contiguous line-by-line operation at a predetermined sur face speed including a picture carrying device, motive means for said picture carrying device, and an electrooptical scanner carriage mechanically connected, to said device for motivation at a predetermined rate across said device; means for changing the contiguous scanning operation to an overlapping line-by-line operation for color picture scanning; removablemeans for filtering the scanning light beam difierently for successive lines of scanning for successively producing electrical signals varying in accordance with individual color components during the overlapping scanning operations on the color picture; and means for translating said electrical signals, comprising means for carrying a record sheet, a recording unit responsive to said signals, a source of motive power for motivating said sheet carrying means with respect to said unit across said record sheet at substantially said electrooptical scanning surface speed, and means for reducing the speed of rotation of said sheet-carrying means and said associated recording unit for producing an individual facsimile corresponding to individual colors of a transmitted color picture.

5. A unitary system for transmitting color and monochrome pictures comprising mechanism for electrooptically scanning a picture with a contiguous line-by-line operation at a predetermined surface speed including a picture carrying device, motive means for said picture'carrying device, and an electrooptical scanner carriage mechanically connected to said device for motivation at a predetermined rate across said drum; means for reducing said predetermined motivation rate of said carriage to cause an overlapping line-by-line operation for color picture scanning comprising a speed change-over apparatus connected between said picture carriage device and carriage at the mechanical connection therebeface speed and means for changing the relative speed of said sheet carrying means and said associated recording unit for producing an individual facsimile corresponding to individual colors for a transmitted color picture consisting of a speed reduction device connected between said source of motive power and said sheet carrying means. i t

WILLIAM G. H, FINCH. 

